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In our emails, sent once or twice a week, you'll receive:
• alerts on new threats to California's environment
• opportunities to join other Californians on urgent actions
• updates on the decisions that impact our environment
• resources to help you create a cleaner, greener future

Keep Plastic Out of the Pacific

In just a few years, our movement to stop plastic pollution has grown by leaps and bounds, from Los Angeles to Marin, with single-use plastic bags now banned in more than 100 communities. Together, we can achieve a statewide ban — saving more sea turtles and other wildlife by keeping plastic out of the Pacific.

Trash is killing ocean wildlife

Californians throw away 123,000 tons of plastic bags each year, and too many of them end up as litter in our ocean. Today, there are 100 million tons of trash in the North Pacific Gyre; in some parts of the Pacific, plastic outweighs plankton 6 to 1.

All of this trash in the Pacific is creating an ecological disaster:

Turtles and seabirds frequently ingest floating plastic, mistaking it for food. They also get entangled in bags and often drown or die of suffocation.

Adult seabirds inadvertently feed small bits of plastic to their chicks — often causing them to starve to death after their stomachs become filled with plastic.

Toxic pollutants leach from the plastic into the water. Scientists are now studying whether fish and other marine animals absorb these toxic pollutants. If so, there is a good chance that we also absorb them when we eat fish.

What’s really scary is that scientists tell us this plastic may never biodegrade. And every day we go without tackling this problem, it becomes a little bit worse.

We can stop the waste

Nothing we use for a few minutes should pollute our oceans for hundreds of years. Californians know this, and are taking action to protect the Pacific.

We’ve made great progress winning local bans and educating the public on the harmful effects of plastic. Today, bags are banned (or soon will be) in more than 100 California communities — and now 1 in 3 Californians are living bag-free. It's a great start, but we’re not stopping until we rid the whole state of plastic bag pollution.

Let's ban the bags statewide!

With more cities banning bags each month, we have the momentum. With your help, we can win an historic victory for our ocean — a statewide ban on plastic bags.

Oceans updates

Arcata— A unanimous City Council voted tonight to ban plastic bags in Arcata’s grocery stores, pharmacies, convenience stores, and retail stores. This vote expands on an ordinance originally adopted by the Council in September. Once approved in a second reading per the city’s legislative procedure, the ban will take effect in six months. To date, 88 California cities and counties have committed to phasing out bags, only 12 away from 100.

Davis— The City Council fully enacted a citywide ban on single-use plastic bags in a unanimous consent vote. The ban, initially approved on October 8, had to be confirmed at a second reading to take effect per the city’s standard legislative procedure. Plastic shopping bags will be phased out in Davis starting July 1, 2014. With Davis, 88 California cities and counties have banned now plastic bags, only 12 away from 100. One in three Californians live somewhere with a plastic bag ban in effect or coming into effect.

Martinez— The City Council has officially entered the race to reach 100 plastic bag bans, voting unanimously to pursue a phase out of single-use plastic shopping bags. Next, city staff will draft an ordinance and complete environmental studies, putting Martinez on track to phase out plastic bags in 2014. To date, 87 California cities and counties have banned plastic bags, only 13 away from 100. One in three Californians now live somewhere with a plastic bag ban.

Santa Barbara—The Santa Barbara City Council voted unanimously today to ban single-use plastic shopping bags citywide. Once confirmed, the ban will take effect in large grocery stores and pharmacies in three months and in smaller stores after one year. Per standard procedure, the council is expected to finalize the ordinance at a second reading later this month.